1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the communication of large volumes of data of the type used in computer games. The invention is characterized by the efficient storage of said data on receipt. The invention also makes use of identification codes to enable the distributor of the data to charge the user of the receiving device in accordance with the number of times the user makes use of said data.
The invention is also designed in such a way as to enable a computer game program to be downloaded from a host computer to a game terminal or else to enable data relating to an unfinished game to be uploaded and stored temporarily in the host computer in such a way that, in cases in which an unfinished game has had to be suspended at the user terminal end, the same game can be resumed at a later time from the point at which it was suspended.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Computer communications technology that enables the use of a telephone line to connect individual computers for the exchange of binary data has long been known. Since computer game programs and game data are similarly expressed in a binary coded form, they can also be transferred between computers using this type of communications technique.
If the data to be transferred is limited in size, inter-computer transmission using an analog telephone line does not take long and poses few problems. Large volumes of data, on the other hand, take a long time to transmit, even along digital lines (ISDN) that enable transmission speeds of up to 64 Kbps. The configuration of a network whereby a plurality of local terminals are connected by telephone lines to a central host computer such that each local terminal is able to access and download data from said host is also well known. However, in this type of configuration, a temporary concentration of access calls from local terminals can easily lead to an overload of the host computer's processing capacity and this will in turn lead to processing delays. Moreover, the longer transmissions take, the more congested the traffic becomes, and more lines have to be added to overcome the problem. This, however, creates a vicious circle by compounding the original problem. On the other hand, if the telephone network is to consist entirely of high-speed digital lines, this means the laying of new optical fiber cables, a task which may well be easier said than done.
There is a wide variety of means available for the retrieval of data from a database held in a host computer. A local terminal could be used, for example, to access the host computer and, on entering a predetermined key word or conditional expression, to extract and retrieve the required data from the massive body of data in store. In this sort of case, two-way communication must be possible between the host computer and the local terminal device. On the other hand, there are means whereby the user can simply select the data he or she requires from an incoming stream of serially transmitted data. In this case, however, there is no necessity for both sides to conduct two-way communication with each other. It is much more important in this second case to determine how and in what sort of order the high-speed data transmission is to be carried out. For this reason, the second type of transmission is probably best made via satellite as a means of preventing any unnecessary traffic build up.
The transmission of data via satellite is not always appropriate, however, in that it is very much a one-way activity with potential users needing only to supply themselves with the appropriate receiver in order to obtain virtually unlimited volumes of high value added data free of charge. An encoder could, of course, be used prior to transmission to scramble the data such that only users with suitable decoders would be able to unscramble the data at the other end. Again, however, a potential user would only need to supply himself with a decoder to enable him to decode all the data received. While it would be possible to impose a uniform charge for use of the decoder, it would still not be possible to charge users in proportion to their actual use of the data received. The broadcasting of game programs by satellite would obviously create problems and the loss of potential revenues to suppliers would be almost incalculable. There is clearly therefore a pressing need for the development of an appropriate charging mechanism for use in this type of situation.
There are two main applications for computer games, namely home use and commercial use. Games for home use are normally played on TV game machines into which different ROM cassettes containing game programs and data can be inserted and removed at will. Personal computers can be used in place of dedicated TV game machines with the relevant game programs being held on floppy disks. A single machine can thus be used to play a variety of different games simply by changing the ROM cassette or floppy disk containing the game program. By contrast, commercial game machines come in many different shapes and sizes, typically either inset into the horizontal surface of a small table or else with an upright visual display arrangement. Such machines are limited, however, in that each one can generally be used to play only one type of game. The owner of this type of machine must change the ROM board if he wants to change the game. A player using this type of machine cannot therefore freely select the game of his choice and can play only the game for which the machine has been programmed.
Games can be broadly divided into three main types, namely shooting games, road race games and role playing games (hereafter referred to as "RPG"). Shooting and road race games normally involve scoring points under certain fixed conditions and, for this reason, the length of a game is to some extent limited. This type of game is thus ideally suited for playing on commercial machines. RPG, on the other hand, require the player to assume a particular role and then to spend such time as may be needed in order to fulfill the tasks required by that role. This leads to problems in that, if the operating rate of this type of machine over time cannot be clearly defined, then it will simply not be appropriate for use in this type of commercial context. Recently, however, RPG are becoming increasingly popular with the result that, if a way can be found of drawing effectively on this library of games for use in commercial game machines, this will boost the operating rate of each machine at a stroke.
In the case of shooting games, the ROM data is processed sequentially and always in the same way, no matter how many times the game is played. As a result and since this type of game cannot be started at a mid-point, the player soon gets bored. With the passage of time, the profitability of this type of game thus tends to decline quite sharply. Thus, while computer games such as shooting games tend to have a natural time limit and to be generally well suited for commercial use, their popularity is also crucially dependent on the skill and originality of the game scenario and this means that great care needs to be taken by owners when selecting games for use in commercial game machines.
Even if computer games were to be downloaded from a host computer to a local game terminal using one or other of the techniques referred to above, the games themselves are presently designed for use only by the player or players using that specific game terminal. Up to now, little thought has been given to the possibility of more than one player, each in a different location, participating in the same game. Even RPG tend to be designed not for groups of players but rather for individuals to pit their wits against the machine in a one-to-one situation. If more than one player, each using a separate machine, were able to participate in the same game, however, the games themselves would inevitably become more complex in nature and a variety of extremely interesting simulations could easily be developed.